


last lights

by bertee



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Space, Hurt/Comfort, Isolation, M/M, Starvation, Touch-Starved
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-03
Updated: 2013-12-03
Packaged: 2018-05-15 17:52:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5794099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bertee/pseuds/bertee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Jensen gets lost in space.</p>
            </blockquote>





	last lights

Jeff's half asleep when the ship picks up the signal.

He shoves an elbow out in the direction of the computer in the hopes of shutting off the alarm but blinks his eyes open when the chirrup only gets louder. Starry blackness stretches out in front of him, punctuated by the burnt orange stripe of an asteroid belt far to the left, and Jeff's eyes adjust to the cockpit lights as he reaches for the scanner. "The fuck is that?"

"Emergency distress signal," Stella translates. "Escape pod of a Ventura 6500 requesting urgent assistance."

"They're gonna be lucky to get it all the way out here," Jeff mutters, rubbing sleep from his eyes. "How far?"

Stella whirs for a long moment until a chart appears on her monitor. "Fourteen hours at current speed."

Jeff grimaces. It's a long detour for a signal which could be nothing more than an addled scientist hitting the wrong button. 

"Can you patch me through to the pod?" he asks. "I'm not going all that way to track down a corpse."

Stella whirs again, the star spinning in the top right of the screen as she works. "Connection established," she says. "Activating in five, four…"

Jeff clears his throat and leans in to the comms system as the computer reaches 'one'. "This is Captain Morgan of the Red Thorn responding to a distress signal," he says, still groggy from sleep. "Does anyone copy?"

He's met with static.

"Does anyone copy?" he repeats, louder. "If you require assistance, please respond."

"I copy!"

Jeff jumps at the answer that comes blaring through the comms. The voice is rough enough for him to wonder if he's stumbled across a lapicon again but the speaker sounds more human when he clears his throat and says again, "I copy! Please, are you there? I need help. Please."

Jeff narrows his eyes. "Who am I speaking to?"

"Jensen," the guy says quickly. "My name's Jensen. I was a research assistant on the Lux Astra."

"Was?"

"We were attacked," Jensen says. "I don't know what it was but it killed the rest of my team. I only just got away."

On screen, Stella brings up the specs of the Lux Astra, confirming its make and model is in line with the source of the distress signal, but Jeff frowns when he sees the date of the mothership's last contact with its pod. "And you're in an escape pod?"

"Yes, sir."

"Anyone else on board?"

Jensen hesitates for a second, understandably cautious about admitting vulnerability to a stranger in space, but eventually answers, "No, sir. Just me." 

"You mind if I run a quick scan to verify that?" He reaches out to tap the relevant button on the monitor. "What species are you?"

"Human male," Jensen says, and then for the purposes of the scan, "Just over six feet, sitting on a bunk near the comms system."

Stella beeps loudly, her screen flashing as signals bounce back and forth between the stars, and Jeff nods when the scan comes back clean. Jensen's exactly where he said, a human silhouette leaning over the microphone, and Jeff taps the screen to tell Stella to divert their course.

"All right, Jensen," Jeff says, reaching for his breakfast. "I'm coming out to get you."

Jensen lets out a breath of disbelief. "Thank you," he says, voice heavy with relief. "God, thank you."

"It's going to take me the best part of fourteen hours to get out there," Jeff warns. "Just sit tight for a while. I'll be there as soon as I can."

The ship tilts, the asteroid belt falling away out of sight as Stella adjusts their course to head towards Jensen's escape pod. The chart shows that it's barely moving, floating out among the stars with nothing else around for light-years, and Jeff looks again at the date the escape pod last docked, half convinced that it's a programming error.

"Hey, Jensen, answer me something," he says, leaning in towards the comm. "When was your ship attacked? How long have you been in that escape pod?"

The pause on the other end is long enough that Jeff almost thinks Jensen has closed down the connection. However, before he can deactivate from his end, a quiet reply comes trickling through the speaker.

"Nearly three years, sir."

**+++**

For someone who's spent the best part of three years alone in the depths of space, Jensen seems surprisingly sane.

Jeff keeps the connection activated for the whole journey, unwilling to deprive Jensen of any more human contact, and they talk most of the way, trading stories about their lives and families as the stars fly by outside Jeff's windows. He updates Jensen on the major news stories in rest of the universe and in return, Jensen updates him on his life inside the escape pod. 

It's better than it could've been -- the pod has back-up power (although no fuel), a decent stockpile of rations, and reliable systems for recycling water and oxygen -- but even looking at the scan of the tiny pod makes Jeff's skin itch with claustrophobia. As much as he likes his own company, the longest journey he's made without a layover has been a couple of months at most and so he's impressed with Jensen's resilience in lasting as long as he has.

Jeff knows plenty of guys who would've thrown themselves out of the airlock by the end of the first week.

It's a long fourteen hours, punctuated by the occasional bathroom break and the lapses of quiet, steady breathing when Jensen falls asleep at the other end of the connection, but by the time his escape pod comes into view, Jeff's glad he made the trip.

"Heads up, kid," he says with a grin, "I can see you."

He can hear the answering smile in Jensen's voice when he replies, "You're here?"

"Right outside," Jeff says, slowing his ship down to a crawl. "Buckle up -- I'll bring you on board."

"Sure," Jensen says quickly. "Yeah, yeah, I'll go-" He stops himself long enough to take a breath and says, almost painfully hopeful, "I'll see you soon?"

"Any second now," Jeff promises. "Hold on."

The Red Thorn is a decent sized ship, a good middle ground between storage capacity and agility, and as Jeff eyes up the pod, he's confident that it should easily fit inside the loading bay. 

"Fill her up," he tells Stella and pushes himself out of his seat when he hears the motors clunk back to life again. The pod slides closer, drawn in by the pull of Jeff's ship, and he reluctantly deactivates the connection between the two of them before heading down to meet his new cargo.

The quarantine scan flashes green and Jeff enters the loading bay to get a look at the pod. It's tiny, maybe half the size of Jeff's apartment back down on Aeris, and as the door mechanism inches open, Jeff can't stop his hand from dropping to his gun as a precaution. 

After three years in a glorified tin can, Jensen may not be as sane as he seems.

The door slides the rest of the way open and Jeff's hand drops the rest of the way back to his side when he gets his first look at Jensen.

While there's no telling on the sanity front, it's clear that Jensen is nowhere near strong enough to be a physical threat. He knows Jensen's at least a decade younger than he is -- they covered off ages early on in the conversation -- but he isn't prepared for quite how young he looks as he climbs out of the escape pod on shaky legs. He's worryingly thin, his bony wrists visible past the sleeves of his sweater and his worn pants baggy around his legs, and there's no missing the dark circles under his eyes as he looks around the loading bay in relieved happiness. 

"Hey there," Jeff says, approaching carefully. "Welcome back to civilization." He smiles. "Or what passes for it out here, I guess."

"Thank you," Jensen says, not taking his eyes off Jeff. "I- Thank you."

He sounds seconds away from crying and Jeff closes the gap between them to rest a tentative hand on his shoulder. 

"My pleasure," he says and relaxes a fraction when Jensen doesn't lash out at the contact. 

Jensen moves in closer, his dark eyes darting up to Jeff's to ask permission, and when Jeff holds out his other arm in offering, Jensen burrows into the hug with a muffled sob. He tucks himself against him, scared and shivering, and Jeff rubs circles between his shoulder blades as he listens to uneven breaths escape Jensen's lips.

"It's okay," he shushes, low and soothing. "You're safe now. I got you."

Jensen shakes his head against his neck. "I didn't- I thought-"

"I know," Jeff says. Neither of them really need to dwell on what Jensen's fate could've been if Jeff hadn't picked up that signal. "But you're okay. You did well, kid."

Jensen stays settled in Jeff's arms and Jeff smiles when he hears his stomach rumble. "I think maybe we should get some food in you," he teases, pulling back enough to get a look at Jensen's face. "You think your system can take a change in food or do you wanna stick to what's left of your own rations for now?"

Looking down, Jensen curls his fingers in his sleeves as he admits, "I don't have any more rations."

Jeff blinks. "What?"

"I tried to make them last as long as I could," Jensen says, as though he's desperate for Jeff to believe him. "I was careful but I- I had to eat something."

"It's okay," Jeff says reflexively. "You lasted nearly three years out there, kid. I'm not about to start judging your survival skills." Jensen nods, face pale, and he asks out of morbid curiosity, "When did your rations run out?"

Jensen's voice is barely above a whisper. "Two days ago."

"Fuck," Jeff murmurs, gathering him in his arms again. Jensen buries his face in the crook of Jeff's neck, holding onto him like Jeff's the only thing that's keeping him from drifting away in that godforsaken pod again, and Jeff strokes his fingers through Jensen's short hair to calm them both down. 

In retrospect, Jensen's initial plea for help was terrifyingly restrained.

**+++**

Jensen doesn't quite fall asleep in his food but it's a close call.

He makes it through half a bowl of the blandest vegetable soup Jeff has in storage before his eyelids start to droop. It's only thanks to Jeff's intervention that he slumps sideways onto Jeff's shoulder rather than forwards into the remainder of the soup.

His brow crinkles when his head meets Jeff's jacket and he pats ineffectively at Jeff's chest in a failed attempt to push himself upright. "M'sorry…"

"Don't worry about it," Jeff says, more amused than irritated. "How about I let you get some sleep, huh?"

Jensen nods around a yawn. He's docile and pliant as Jeff maneuvers them both to their feet to head for the spare bunk but wakes up enough to mumble, "Thank you." He looks up at him, sleepy and open. "I didn't think I'd get such a nice rescuer."

"Sorry, they were fresh out of surly rescuers today." Jensen laughs, leaning close against him as Jeff asks, "What kind of rescuer did you think you'd get?"

"Pirates," Jensen says absently. "Y'know, looking for some kind of loot in the pod. Or slavers, maybe. Oh, or scavengers. The kind who'd kill me and sell the pod for parts." He shrugs, close to falling asleep again. "After a while I stopped thinking I'd get any rescuers."

Something twists in Jeff's chest as he gives Jensen's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "Guess it's your lucky day, huh?"

"My luckiest," Jensen agrees, letting Jeff shepherd him towards the bunk. 

It's rarely used but it's big and comfortable, and Jeff's glad he remembered a spare set of bedding when Jensen sinks into it with a contented groan. His hand stays curled around Jeff's wrist and Jeff reaches out to run his thumb along the ridge of Jensen's cheekbone as he says, "Get some sleep, okay? You can take another shot at food tomorrow."

He goes to ease his wrist free but frowns when Jensen maintains a child-like grip on his arm.

"Jensen?" he asks carefully. "You okay?"

Jensen nods, half asleep, and Jeff smiles. "You wanna let go of me?"

Jensen's eyes open again. He frowns in confusion at his own hand for a brief second before letting go like he's been scalded and promptly blushing pink. "Sorry."

Pleased to note that Jensen's face still has the ability to turn other colors besides worryingly pale, Jeff grins and brushes his cheek again. "Don't worry about it."

Jensen's fingers curl in the blankets, tension creeping through his body even as his eyes drift shut, and Jeff pauses to see if he'll ask the question.

He doesn't, eyes closed and lips pressed together as he tucks himself into a smaller ball in the bed, and so Jeff asks for him. "Do you want me to stay?"

Jensen's blush deepens to one of shame but apparently it's not strong enough to outweigh his answer when he looks up at Jeff hopefully. "Please? I'm sorry, I-"

"It's okay," Jeff says honestly. Jensen hasn't let go of him for more than a couple of seconds since he came on board; Jeff's been fully prepared for human teddy bear duty. "You were on your own for a long time -- I don't think anyone could fault you for wanting some human contact."

Sheer relief lights Jensen's face when Jeff pulls his boots off and hits the lights before climbing into the bunk next to him. Jensen nestles against him, his skinny limbs tucked between them as he settles in the curve of Jeff's body, and Jeff reaches down to run a hand through his hair when sees the glint of Jensen's eyes in the dim light. 

"I'm sorry," Jensen whispers. He sounds wretched, even as he curls up at Jeff's side. "It's pathetic-"

"Hey," Jeff says firmly. "It's not pathetic. You made it through years of isolation -- if wanting a hug is the worst side effect, then that's pretty damn impressive."

Jensen nods mutely, cuddling in closer, and Jeff blinks in surprise when he feels the soft brush of a kiss on his cheek. 

It's a mark of gratitude rather than romance and Jeff returns the favor, pressing a kiss to Jensen's forehead when his eyes fall shut again. 

"Get some sleep, sweetheart," Jeff murmurs as Jensen's breathing evens out. "I'll be right here if you need me."


End file.
